Peregrine CEO Gets Public Defender

A judge has appointed a public defender for the chief executive of collapsed brokerage firm Peregrine Financial Group Inc. when he appears in an Iowa court Wednesday.

Peregrine CEO Russell Wasendorf Sr. was charged last week with lying to regulators and may be required to repay the cost of his defense later, according to an order filed Tuesday by Judge Jon Stuart Scoles of the Northern District of Iowa.